international volunteerism in asia

7/28/2019 INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERISM IN ASIA

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VOLUNTEERING

INTERNATIONAL

VOLUNTEERISM IN ASIAKeyndings on a recent report commissionedby the Singapore International Foundation,which provide insights on new trends andchallenges.,

To date, there has been nocomprehensive study ofinternational volunteerism in

Asia. The recent report, supported

by the International FORUM on

Development Service and the

non-profit organization Singapore

International Foundation (SIF),

on Emerging Perspectives on

International Volunteerism in Asia,

addresses this gap by exploring the

current challenges and emerging

perspectives in international

volunteerism in Asia. International

volunteering and service (IVS) is an

organized period of engagement

and contribution to society by

volunteers who work across an

international border, in anothercountry or countries.

The report is based on a review of

the literature on volunteerism in

Asia, extensive field interviews with

60 key informants representing

47 organizations in six Asian

countries, and an online survey

with 80 IVS sending organizations

in 20 countries across Asia.Findings were also taken from

focus-group discussions held with

returned volunteers, as well as

with national volunteers working

with IVS sending organizations

in Asia. However, there are no

figures currently on the number

of international volunteers in Asia.

Below are some of the key findings

and implications from this research:

GROWTH OF ASIATOASIA

VOLUNTEERING

Asia has experienced a trend

toward Asia-to-Asia placements.

On the supply side, volunteers

reported that volunteer

placements in Asia are more

convenient due to greater ease

securing visas and other traveldocuments, especially within

ASEAN countries (these include

Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,

Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,

Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).

At the country level, competition

in the global market and trade

regionalization has pressed Asian

countries to focus development aid

more tightly on strategic South-South cooperation (cooperation

from countries located within the

southern hemisphere).

On the demand side, volunteer-

hosting organizations must

spend less time training Asian

international volunteers because

there is more immediate cultural

connections between Asian

volunteers and Asian host

communities. Cultural practices

such as saving face and patronage

often do not have to be explained

to Asian volunteers. Therefore,

while many volunteer-hosting

organizations previously received

international volunteers from

the West, now explicitly seek

volunteers from Asia as the pool

of available volunteers there is

growing rapidly.

The tendency towards South-to-

South volunteering is a relatively

new trend in international

volunteering worldwide, which

has been dominated historically

by North-to-South volunteering.

This trend may signal a new model

of IVS emerging from Asia. In a

related shift, some respondents

expressed a desire for South-to-North volunteering in order to gain

exposure to Western countries, a

practice that has been minimal in


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VOLUNTEERING

Asia as it is in many other regions

of the globe.

FOCUS ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Many bilateral donors have

prioritized climate change-

related projects as part of their

financial support to developing

countries in Asia. However, many

IVS host organizations voiced

concerns about their own lack

of knowledge about climate

change issues at technical andmanagerial levels. They also

expressed challenges attracting

volunteers to work on these

issues due to the high technical

skills required, especially in the

context of post-natural disasters.

Moreover, some respondents

believe that volunteerism related to

climate change should undergo a

paradigm shift, not just to do what

is necessary (the what), but also

understand why the implications

of climate change touch us all.

SHIFT IN VOLUNTEERING FOR

DISASTER RELIEF

There is a clear trend towards

greater professionalism in

disaster relief efforts. For some

Japanese International VolunteerCooperation Organisations (IVCOs),

for example, this translates into a

preference for paid professionals

instead of international volunteers

in order to reduce risk and

negative repercussions of low

expertise among amateurs, and

to enable greater accountability

and coordination of on-the-

ground activities in the aftermathof a disaster. In Singapore, IVCOs

now require volunteers to take a

standardized training course to

Myanmar participant: An early childhood care practitioner in Myanmar

works on her curriculum after being trained by Singapore volunteers

during the Singapore International Foundations (SIF) Specialist Team(Early Childhood Care and Development) Project.


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help them prepare mentally and

technically for the challenges of

working in a post-disaster context.

NEW PATHWAYS TO

INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERING

IN ASIA

a) Targeting the Asian Diaspora

(a phenomenon that led to the

dispersion of people outside

their country of origin, due

to factors such as hardship,

oppression, social struggles, orsearch for more prosperous lives)

IVS organizations have begun

to target first, second and third

generations of Indians, Filipinos,

and Vietnamese living overseas,

encouraging them to return as

volunteers to their ancestral

countries. This includes corporate

and other professionals as well

as the children of immigrants

serving in short- and long-term

assignments.

C%PNFTUJDUPJOUFSOBUJPOBM

volunteering A trend toward

greater domestic volunteering in

many Asian countries has led to

greater awareness of opportunities

for international volunteering. For

example, the Chinese Government

encouraged volunteering during

the 2008 Olympic Games,

raising awareness and interest

in volunteering, and Singaporeformally introduced volunteering in

the educational system. Extensive

media coverage of natural disaster

relief efforts has generated interest

in international volunteering. For

example, the Asian Tsunami in

Indonesia and the earthquakes in

Taiwan and China mobilized large

numbers of domestic volunteers

and raised awareness of the key

role of international volunteering.

c) Volunteering among youth

In addition to recruiting and

encouraging Diaspora youth,

there has also been concern

in some countries that youth

may be reluctant to volunteer

internationally because it takes

time away from career-building.

Some countries have responded

by providing returned volunteers

with subsidies or incentives suchas employment guarantees. For

example, in Japan, where hiring

practices give little credit to IVS

experience in the formal labour

market, some IVCOs receive

governmental support to provide

long-term volunteers with

employment guarantee schemes

and wage subsidies.

SIF volunteer, Alvan Yap, took a year offfrom

work to teach international sign language tohearing-impaired children in Timor Leste.

Water For Life: A corporate social responsibility

project involving the installation of bio-sandwater filters in Siem Reap, Cambodia.


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